PrVM: a multicore real-time virtualization scheduling framework with probabilistic timing guarantees

We present PrVM, a framework for scheduling real-time VMs on multicore hardware. It addresses the intersection of the following problems: probabilistic real-time scheduling, VM scheduling, and full virtualization. Though each of these problems have been studied, their intersection - motivated by the need to consolidate multiple real-time software stacks, whose applications can be defined via probabilistic timing properties, onto a single embedded platform - is empty. PrVM uses a probabilistic model and timeliness optimality criterion. PrVM schedules VMs as server-like processes, computes time budgets using probabilistic methods, and aggregates task time budgets into VM time budgets. Experimental evaluations, using simulations and a concrete implementation, confirm the framework's effectiveness for synthetic benchmarks and multimedia applications.